Friday, April 27, 2012

I was running with my friend this week and babbling off races, times, thoughts. I pretty much hit every race discipline out there from triathlon to the marathon to the 50-miler. I’m very excited to be racing again and when I get excited, I certainly can start getting ahead of myself then realize months down the road that I haven’t reached any actual goals just ended up crossing finish lines. It is fun but achieving goals is a lot more motivating. I want to conquer it all though the hard thing about wanting to conquer it all is that it is impossible to do all at once. Darn. Well, Coach Oz says “Sit down, write out your goals. Really think about it. Be honest with yourself”.

So, I’ve been sitting down attempting to write down specific achievable goals for 2012. Of course, achievable doesn’t mean easy…it means if I put in the work I should (hopefully) reap the rewards. The problem is I am torn between triathlon and speedy running. So, I weigh the pros and cons. Figure in how much training time I have. Weigh the cost and possible monetary gains. I visualize the training and results. I ask what will make me happiest and what fits best into our lifestyle. Running is my one true love. This I know for sure but I do have a soft spot for the bike and know that I can’t completely walk away. I’m a talented swimmer though fail to make it into the pool more than twice a week (this doesn’t bother me in the least). My favorite triathlon distance is 140.6 miles but it just can’t be done this year. I feel my bike is no where near a 5:20 or less bike split and that surely would mean disappointment for me. So, my thought is to train enough to re-qualify for my pro card while focusing a majority on running with the 2012 goals of hitting a 1:16 half and a 2:44 marathon time…aggressive but achievable. It took a lot of brainstorming to get to this point. I am very relieved and satisfied with my decisions. Oh, you may ask, what about the 50-miler? That’s just a bonus fun race. A dream race. Frolicking through the Alps. I just want to finish with a smile on my face. No time goals. No expectations except for beautiful scenery.

So now that I figured out athletic goals, time to write down life goals. This could take awhile…